Chelsea's John Terry not considering return to England team

Former England captain John Terry has no plans to come out of international retirement.

Gary Lineker joined calls for Terry to return to the international fold on Monday night following a superb performance by the defender in Chelsea's 1-0 win over Manchester City.

"Must be hugely tempting for Roy Hodgson to pick up the phone to John Terry. Solid regular partnership with (Gary) Cahill. Best option by far," England's second-highest scorer tweeted.

Terry called time on his England career in September 2012, accusing the Football Association of making his position within the international setup "untenable" following its pursuit of a racism charge against him.

Terry failed to hold down a regular place in the Chelsea side last year, but he has starred for the Blues this term following the return of Jose Mourinho.

Such performances as the one at the Etihad have led to talk of a return, but Press Association Sport understands the 33-year-old stands by his original decision to retire from international football and has no plans to come back.

It is understood that Terry's stance has not changed since he said "the door is closed" on his international career last month.

Terry's camp were miffed by reports that the Chelsea captain had made himself available for England's March friendly against Denmark - the final game the Three Lions play before Hodgson selects his provisional World Cup squad.

Responding to claims by former England right-back and FA Commission member Danny Mills that Terry should be recalled, England manager Hodgson said in November: "John retired a long time ago right at the very start of our qualifying campaign. We have played nine games without him. We have qualified without losing a game.

"So I think it is time for us to keep moving forward and not every time we lose a game start to turn back and turn back to someone who has been a fantastic player in the past."

The FA banned Terry for four matches for racially abusing Anton Ferdinand in October 2012, but the 78-cap defender was cleared of criminal charges regarding the matter.